Car show benefits local veterans

George and Jacque Dodd, of Franklin, stand with their 1966 Chevrolet Malibu Saturday at Williams Spring Park in Mt. Pleasant. The couple attended the Classics in the Park car show. (Staff photo by Tim Hodge)

Car show benefits local veterans

Car show benefits local veterans

Car show benefits local veterans

MT. PLEASANT — Hundreds of hot rods and curious cars filled Williams Spring Park as golden oldies resonated throughout the area from a nearby sound system.

Classic and modern cars colored in every shade of the rainbow stood parked in linear formations with hoods popped as owners and spectators swapped stories.

A slight threat of rain showers was not enough to deter attendees who gathered to support local veterans in need.

The Classics for a Cause car club hosted its seventh annual “Classics in the Park” Saturday at the park off U.S. Highway 43 in Mt. Pleasant. Show proceeds benefited the Maury County Needy Veterans Fund, which supplies financial assistance, food and clothing to active and past military personnel.

U.S. Army veteran Sam Seagraves, who lives in the Mt. Pleasant/Columbia area, attended the show to support his fellow soldiers, past and present. He retired from the service about 21 years ago.

Seagraves brought his cranberry-colored 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T. He has wanted a Challenger since he was a teenager.

“Back in the day, I drove one of them and almost got hurt in it because it was a little bit more power than I needed at 19-years-old,” Seagraves said. “I vowed then to have one, but it just took me 30 or 40 years to get around to getting one.”

The Army veteran has close affiliation with the armed forces. His two sons Douglas and Donald, three brothers and son-in-law all have served — or are serving — in the military.

Seagraves expressed sympathy for veterans coming back from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars who are returning with mental and physical problems.

He briefly commented on the recent scandals surrounding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and its treatment of past and present soldiers. Seagraves acknowledged the government is limited in what it can do, but he said the VA is “letting some of these guys down a little bit.”

“We need things like this (event) to fill that gap between what the government can do and what the veterans deserve to have done,” Seagraves said.

Now is the time to stand up and help those in need, he added.

George and Jacque Dodd, of Franklin, attended the Saturday show with their bright-red 1966 Chevrolet Malibu. George Dodd said he also developed an automobile affinity while in high school. At that time, a hot rod seemed out of reach, he said.

“Until I got in my 50s, I couldn’t afford one,” he said, smiling. “It’s a pretty neat, little old car.”

He bought the Malibu from a man in Crossville about 14 years ago and has been restoring it ever since.

Although the couple said they do not have any direct connections to veterans, it was still important for them to show their appreciation.

“Once you go into the service, after you get out, it seems like it is a struggle to get the least little things,” George Dodd said. “Hopefully, it will get better, and this is some way we can help.”

Classics for a Cause Chairman J.R. Roberts said he believes the Saturday show was the largest event in its seven-year history. There were 162 entries in the car show, and Roberts estimated more than 500 people attended.

“We realize that our federal government — they help with a lot of things — but they can’t help with smaller things,” he said. “We have had so much support, it is just overwhelming. When you do something like this, it really gives you a good feeling that you have succeeded.”

For more information about donating to the Maury County Needy Veterans Fund, call the Maury County Veterans Service office at (931) 381-7094.

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